


Harley Quinn and anti-heroines

by Metabird (wheatear)



Series: Character archetypes [15]
Category: Birds of Prey (And the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn) (2020), DCU, Harley Quinn (Cartoon 2019)
Genre: Character Analysis, Character Study, Embedded Video, Female Anti-Hero, Female Characters, Gen, Meta, Nonfiction, Superheroes, Supervillains, Tropes, character comparison
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-10
Updated: 2020-03-10
Packaged: 2021-03-12 22:41:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 605
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23096251
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wheatear/pseuds/Metabird
Summary: What makes Harley different to other popular female superheroes and villains? A meta analysis of Harley Quinn as an anti-heroine.
Series: Character archetypes [15]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1655167
Comments: 2
Kudos: 28
Collections: March Meta Matters Challenge





	Harley Quinn and anti-heroines

**Author's Note:**

> Originally written for the halfamoon challenge at Dreamwidth.

It's a good time to be a **Harley Quinn** fan. The new _Birds of Prey_ movie recently came out (lots of fun), she's starring in her own animated series (genuinely excellent, would recommend) and we'll be seeing Margot Robbie reprising her role in the upcoming _Suicide Squad_ reboot, which will hopefully be better than the awful original.  
  
I was all ready to write some meta about Harley as an anti-heroine and why it's so refreshing to see a popular female character take on this role, but then I found this excellent video that makes the point for me. It's twenty minutes long but well worth watching in full:  
  


  
  
The thing about Harley is that she's **genuinely flawed** in a way female characters aren't often allowed to be. She's a mess. She makes bad decisions. And yet she still kicks ass and we still root for her.  
  
She isn't morally pure or upstanding like the popular heroines of her genre. Wonder Woman and Captain Marvel are as unappealing as their male counterparts, Superman and Captain America, to me. What's the point of a character who always kicks ass and does the right thing? Where's the challenge in that? They're meant to be role models, but for us mere mortals these idealized characters may be harder to relate to.  
  
Nor is Harley a sexy villain with seductive qualities like Poison Ivy. Of course her design has gotten sexier and skimpier over time, but I think the fact that a core aspect of her character is being Joker's girlfriend has ironically protected her from the cliches that beset female villains. Sexy female villains know how to manipulate men and lead them on to get what they want. Harley doesn't. Harley is childish, emotionally vulnerable and follows her heart even when that leads to making mistakes.  
  
The same is true of other female anti-heroines like Catwoman or the cool secret agent/assassin types like Black Widow and Gamora. These characters have a sort of slinky poise and put-together-ness that Harley doesn't have. They're morally grey, sure, but they're also strong and independent in a way that Harley isn't.  
  
In fact, that's what all of these other female characters have in common and the one thing that differentiates Harley above all else:  
  
Wonder Woman, Captain Marvel, Catwoman, Black Widow, Gamora, Poison Ivy et al are **Strong Independent Women™.**  
  
Harley isn't. Harley has to _learn_ to become independent. She doesn't have that natural effortless poise. Can you imagine any of these other women falling in thrall to the Joker? No, of course not. They wouldn't fall for that. But Harley does. Can you imagine any of these other women getting their hearts broken? Would they deal with it gracefully or fall apart? Of course they wouldn't fall apart. But Harley is allowed to be a broken mess and _then_ get up, pick up the pieces and find her own way.  
  
Harley is vulnerable in ways that might be uncomfortable, but that makes her journey to independence and self-actualization all the more compelling, because she didn't have it from the start. As one of the quotes in the video says:  
  
_"Wonder Woman sort of represents perfection, whereas Harley represents everybody else."_  
  
We're not all born Strong Independent Women. And for anyone who has moments of vulnerability, which is basically everyone, I love that we have such a popular breakout character who gets to be vulnerable and messy and flawed _and_ is highly entertaining, smart, funny, and an anti-heroine in her own right.  
  
Harley is great. I love that we're getting so much Harley in popular media right now. Long may it continue.


End file.
